


I never did have very good timing

by thesupplanter



Category: Pacific Rim
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Other, Prompt Fic, Shapeshifter, canon character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesupplanter/pseuds/thesupplanter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rain soaked them to the skin, to say nothing of the blood.</p><p>At first, they'd tried to fight. Yancy still wasn't sure what gave them away, but somehow the guys at the bar had decided what they were, and meant to take care of it. Five on two wasn't bad odds, they'd faced worse in their life- take it outside, stand their ground.</p><p>The Becket Boys knew how to give hits as good as they take them. Raleigh's eyebrow was split before long, and when one pulled a knife, Yancy got a few slashes on his stomach before he could take it from him. The brothers used the weapons they had available- their bodies- and for a moment, they almost won.</p><p>But one of their attackers had a gun, and he pointed it between Raleigh's eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Or, an AU where a shapeshifting Raleigh ends up in an animal shelter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I never did have very good timing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allyarra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyarra/gifts).



The rain soaked them to the skin, to say nothing of the blood.

At first, they'd tried to fight. Yancy still wasn't sure what gave them away, but somehow the guys at the bar had decided what they were, and meant to take care of it. Five on two wasn't bad odds, they'd faced worse in their life- take it outside, stand their ground.

The Becket Boys knew how to give hits as good as they take them. Raleigh's eyebrow was split before long, and when one pulled a knife, Yancy got a few slashes on his stomach before he could take it from him. The brothers used the weapons they had available- their bodies- and for a moment, they almost won.

But one of their attackers had a gun, and he pointed it between Raleigh's eyes.

"Put you down the way mutts should-"

Yancy had shifted without meaning to, launching himself up and tearing into the man's wrist. Blood and muscle and tendons broke under his teeth and the gun fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

When he jumped back, Raleigh was already snarling and barking at the others, still frozen by surprise.

If you'd been fighting two guys and they suddenly turned into golden retrievers, you'd be surprised too.

Yancy snapped a warning to his brother. _Run!_

So they ran.

Despite their best efforts, they were pursued. Raleigh's shoulder had been pulled wrong in the scuffle, and it made it hard to run naturally. The rain disoriented them, took away their nose, darkened their eyes- it'd be easier as men but they'd be slower.

As they rounded a corner, a loop of rope snagged Yancy around the neck. Raleigh turned immediately to come back to him, but the sound his brother made left no room for argument. One of the pursuers had something that was best described as a club.

_Run! Raleigh, listen to me-_

He heard his brother scream as he turned to run, hating himself the whole way.

They should never have been there. Should never have- never-

\--

"You have to do something about this."

Lieutenant Pentecost sighed, rubbing his eyes as his daughter stared him down.

"Mako. We are working as hard as we can to stop these attacks." He glanced at her, wondering for a moment just how she managed to grow up so stubborn- but then he remembered. "As sad as this story is, because of the Becket attack-"

She pressed her hands to his desk. Didn't slam them, the way many would to make a point; he'd taught her well.

"It was a _murder_."

Stacker sighed at her again, but- she was right. "This case will set the standard. It has drawn the attention of groups across the country, politicians, legislators- this had to happen for things to change."

It was Mako's turn to sigh, rubbing small circles on the desk.

"I hope his brother- is alright. Losing one's family-"

Stacker stood to rest his hands on her shoulders, knowing as well as she did.

"Every attempt to find him is being made. When we do, I will tell him- personally."

\--

He doesn't know how far or how long he runs, only that when he drops, it isn't raining anymore. The dark of his sleep was interrupted, first by a little boy, then by his grandfather, and finally by people who put him in some kind of a metal box. He offered a small whine before falling asleep again.

When they pulled Raleigh from the kennel- he decided that's what it had to be- some time later, it was in an animal shelter. They washed him free of mud and blood, ran some tests and checked his shoulder- no permanent damage, he heard, but he disagreed with a small whumph.

They patched him up and settled him in an enclosure with a warm bed. He allowed it, telling himself they'd eventually let him outside; he'd shift then, hop whatever fences he had to, and go find Yancy.

He had to be okay. He had to.

A few days later, the vet techs are checking his temperament, to see if he's adoptable. He allowed them to give him a toy and take it away, and then a treat, and finally his food. It was no mystery what happened to dogs that didn't pass this assessment.

They're on the way back to the enclosure when he overheard the news cast.

"-body of who is believed to be one Yancy Becket was found yesterday evening in an ally-"

He dug his paws into the floor, sliding on the tile. When his shoulder was jarred by an employee, he gave a small yelp, enough to get them to stop so he could listen-

"Reports indicate that the altercation started earlier that evening in a bar when the Becket brothers were accused of being shapeshifters, leading many to believe this was indeed a hate crime."

They tried to tug him along again, but Raleigh simply rolled onto his back.

"The younger Becket has not been seen since that evening, leaving final arrangements for Yancy-"

\--

"It's not a bad neighborhood."

As he looked around in front of Mako's new building, Stacker remarked quietly, "It's not exactly good."

His sergeant clapped a hand on his shoulder; he understood. When his son moved out, the area wasn't nearly as nice as this one and Chuck still insisted he was going. Granted Chuck had been younger than Mako, and left simply because Herc no longer had a right to stop him- but regardless.

"Just these two left?" He asked, grabbing the larger of the last boxes.

Stacker nodded, grabbing the other. "She wants to get a dog."

"Dogs are good."

"Dogs have big eyes that make you feel guilty about leaving."

Herc chuckled a bit as they stepped into the elevator. "So does Mako."

With a small sigh, Stacker relented with a small smirk. "Cats are easier. Just give you this bored stare every time you look at them."

"So does Chuck."

"Good, then she'll be used to it." Stacker led them down the hall to Mako's new apartment. "Cat."

Mako only caught the last of that, but she fixed both Stacker and Herc with a stubborn look.

"I'm not a child. I can take care of a dog."

"Start with a cat. You don't have to pay a deposit for cats."

\--

No matter how much Raleigh tried, he couldn't shift.

Yancy was gone. He was stuck here and Yancy was out there _dead_ and he was-

The workers at the shelter didn't know what to do with him. When he was all patched up, they let him out in the yard with four or five other dogs. At first they tried to play with him, but they could tell he wasn't right; whether they understood shifters or not, Raleigh was not-dog, and they understood that. He was mostly left to his own devices, laying in the sun.

It went on for a couple of weeks. Now and again Raleigh would try to shift, get so close- but he couldn't do it. There was a hole in him that sounded like Yancy and he couldn't do it.

The shelter named him Ray- hoping he'd turn into a Ray of Sunshine. Considering some of the names he'd heard them calling the other dogs, Raleigh couldn't really complain. He answered to it well enough, usually with a sigh and a half-limping lumber over, giving them an even look.

 _What_.

People came and went. Some talked to him, some tried to get him to play- but he didn't play. He let them scratch his ears and tell him he was a pretty dog and so on, but he wouldn't give them anything to attach to beyond his looks. He wouldn't go home with these people.

\--

A cat.

It wasn't a matter of not liking cats; Mako enjoyed all animals, really- but she wanted a dog. Chuck had Max and the way they'd always been together- she wanted that. But Stacker had insisted and perhaps it was the part of her that would always be the little girl he brought home, but she agreed.

She fully intended to keep to such an agreement as well.

Until she looked through the fence and saw the retriever.

It took a moment for her to catch her, turning to go inside. After she'd filled out some preliminary paperwork, they asked what she wanted to see first.

"Dogs. The ones outside."

They showed her to the yard, warning that they tended to swarm and jump. Mako's smile was immediate, kneeling to scratch ears and rub backs and bellies. The retriever was still over along the fence, looking almost asleep. She turned over her shoulder, looking for one of the employees.

"That golden retriever- what's his name?"

The answer comes a little garbled, blocked out by the dogs crying over neglect, but it sounded like-

"Raleigh?"

In a matter of moments, the other dogs had settled, quiet, giving Mako her space. At first she thought she'd done something wrong until she felt something wet pressing against her hand. It seemed the retriever recognized his name; his ears were perked up, eyes searching hers, tail up but still.

"No, no, it's Ray. Like a Ray of Sunshine!"

His expression changed, a small whumph of a sigh the only response he could give. Mako almost laughed, rubbing her hands over his head, scratching behing his ears. His fur wasn't quite soft, but she liked it. He was a good, solid dog, as far as she could tell.

"Raleigh. Is that your name?"

He wagged his tail a bit, shifting from one foot to the other with a small whine.

"That's a good name. Are you a good boy? Sit?"

For a moment, all Raleigh did was look at her; and he almost looked like he wanted to answer her. He tucked his back legs under him, a bit nervously, sitting as close to her as he could. She rubbed a hand over his back, his shoulders- when she touched the left one, he shifted almost away, so she stopped there. He was still looking at her; Mako felt like he wanted her to understand- something.

"He's never been so- responsive. He doesn't take to people like this."

Mako gives him a small smile. "Good boy."

\--

Raleigh couldn't understand what it was about this girl that made him want to go with her.

She'd said his name, his name- but that seemed to be an accident. All the same, she'd kept it, and within the hour he was being walked to her truck to leave the shelter. She spoke a bit on the way home, which he almost considered strange until he realized she was just- lonely. People get dogs when they're lonely.

Mako made a quick stop on the way to her home- told Raleigh to stay in the truck while she gets some food and a few other things- and to her credit, it only took her about ten minutes to find whatever she needed for him. He noticed she didn't buy any food- which he took as a favor since dog food was just-

Not his favorite.

Her apartment was small, but comfortable. She set a bed for him down by the patio door, so he could lay in the sun. Mako told him that he wasn't allowed on the furniture when her father is here, but otherwise she didn't mind. He curled up on the couch, the end opposite where Mako was, which made her smile.

This was a bad idea. He had to shift and get out of here, fast.

The rest of the evening was spent in silence, but it was comfortable. Mako made a beef/vegetable stir fry for dinner, reserving a bit of cooked meat and raw veggies for Raleigh. He was impressed; she knew what he could and couldn't eat, as a dog. After dinner, he sat a bit closer to her on the couch as she watched the news, commenting to him about it now and again.

He fell asleep at some point, full of warm food and finally away from the constant noise of the shelter. When Mako turned off the TV to go to bed, he woke, looking around sleepily. She scratched behind his ears a bit, smiling at him almost fondly. He realized he'd moved closer in his sleep, his head resting against her thigh- she had a good smell. Warm and safe.

"Are you sleeping on the couch tonight?"

He considered it. Probably safest, lest he shift in his sleep and Mako wake up next to a naked man.

Without waiting for an answer, Mako stood and walked towards her bedroom, tapping her thigh.

"C'mon. It's a big bed. I don't kick much."

After a moment of hesitation, he slunk off the couch, stretching a bit before following her.

_Here's hoping this doesn't end badly._

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill a prompt posted by tumblr user allyarra:
> 
> "" Pacific Rim AU where Raleigh is a shapeshifter and his other form is a golden retriever and Mako accidentally adopts him from the dog shelter because he’s been having trouble shifting back to human since his brother died. ""
> 
> http://allyarra.tumblr.com/post/58728381850/


End file.
